Everybody wins

Everything else implies a winner and a loser. But this is not a game. If someone wins, everyone does not have to lose. And if someone loses, everyone else doesn’t win. Instead, we need to figure out how to come together and reconcile with one another. — @glennbeck https://medium.com/@glennbeck/disagree-or-be-fired-a0ae2deca9b6#---54-305.ld8hbj7dz

As a parent and a wannabe educator, I would like to promote an alternative mindset much different from competition we are all familiar with. 

In competitions, contenders battle it out for the first spot.  Each prepares and trains, but only one one gets to be awarded the ultimate competition title. This works in athletics, in school competitions, in promoting excellence and hard work. However, the trouble begins when we adopt this competition mindset to our daily lives. On the road, we feel like we must beat the other car and drive ahead. In the office, we refuse to help others who may reach higher than us.

We fail to understand that life has its ups and downs. Life has opportunities and right timing (TAMANG PANAHON ala Kalyeserye style). No matter how good we may be, our preparations and skills will not land us to the top spot unless the odds favor us as well. Adopting the mindset that we can all win recognizes that our time has not come yet, and we must keep on improving and growing until it comes. We can begin to feel truly happy for others who reach this success, because their triumph is not deducted from our capabilities to win.

We must not treat one another as enemies fighting the same battle where only one wins. Instead, let us think that life is a battle, yet all of us WINS at our own right time.

It's all a matter of perspective.

2012: Essence and Purpose of Life, Getting a Drivers License at LTO Quezon City Main Office, ADHD signs on a preschooler

If you are walking along God's chosen path for you, and you are trusting Him to order each step, you will be successful. ~ Charles Stanley

Getting a license at LTO's Main QC office

I have applied for a student's permit license twice yet never managed to graduate to the non-professional license. First time, I applied at Marikina LTO. Second was in Mandaluyong.

Third, and hopefully the last is at LTO's main office in Quezon City along East Avenue.

Duration: Give or take 60 minutes

Requirements:
Make sure you have these documents ready for faster application.
1. Photocopy of any government issued ID that shows date of birth/age (E.g. Passport, SSS ID, etc). Bring the original too, for validation purposes. If none,
2. Birth certificate
4. TIN number
5. Money
6. Ballpen

Note:
1. No drug/medical test required.

Procedure:
1. Line up to the single-manned front desk for the form. Accomplish all the fields properly.
2. Turn right to proceed to the QCLC - Quezon City Licensing Center Window 1 Evaluation of Student to submit the accomplished form. You will need to submit photocopied ID here.
3. Wait for name to be called at Window 6 for picture and digital signature taking.

Some driving schools offer assistance for securing student permit for a fee. However, you need to be physically there at the government office for the signature and photo taking.

4. Once name is called, line up at the specifiec window to have your phto and signature taken.
5. Then wait for your name to be called for the payment of the permit. Student permit costs P317.63.
6. Finally, wait one last time for your name to be called. This is when they will hand you your student's permit with the OR. Check all the details before leaving.

Overall, applying for a student's permit at the QC Main Office was better compared to my previous experiences.

I'd rank this specific LTO office together with DTI in Highway 54. Transactions are reasonably handled. The premises are clean. Waiting areas are well lighted and ventilated. Staff are professional and corteous.

Points for improvement
They may best use the flat screen TVs at the waiting area for advertorials, the same way Mercury Drugstores do it? Topics such as proper driving, driving rules or steps in applying/renewing for licenses.

Matt Damon pretends to be Santa to kids for Water.org

Carlos in 2011
I may be guilty of always treating him as a baby. Can't help it. Though 2011 showed a lot of maturing and improvements from Carlos, I fondly recall that moment when being so young as he was, he comforted me with his words, "Don't worry mom."

I need not worry because he would wash his hands which were all getting dirty with the ice cone he's eating.

I need not worry that his pants got pee on it because he missed the toilet. He will just change it.

Do you really care, Carlos? Or do you just prefer a cooler mom? :)

Knowing him more
Carlos hasn't been diagnosed with ADHD yet reading up on the case familiarized me more with his behavior:

• Difficulty to focus on a task - Whenever I would hold our home school sessions at home, Carlos would not participate. Instead, he would tell me what he wishes to do instead. At school, his teacher told me that during table top activities, Carlos would fail to finish his work. 
• Ability to hear, see or feel things otherwise common to all - Carlos gets annoyed with too loud objects. He doesn't like parades, much so things at home that make scary sounds. Their grandmother once gave them a musical candle that plays happy birthday song in a high-pitched manner. Carlos couldn't stand it. He sees specks of dirt on the rice, on the wall. He doesn't want to step on the floor if there are grains or dust.
• Falls asleep easily when things are boring - While eating, if it's too quiet, we'd just see him asleep on his chair. Watching a movie they've seen several times, we'd just notice him asleep on his spot.

These symptoms are not telling. They are common to kids their age. Diagnosing his giftedness based on the above things are unfair, yet they have helped me accept him and treat him differently. It was me. I needed to change. After I did this, magically, things lightened up and I saw how he improved.

Sick kids, women's purse, Shamcey Supsup, Preschool conclusion

Sick kids are the most difficult to take care of.

Recently, Carlos fell from the stairs while rushing down with his sister. They were racing. He skipped a step and fell head first. Good thing I caught him before he landed on the bottom most part. However, the incident broke his left shoulder, clavicle, the doctors call.

Good thing they were on a semestral break.

Days after this, he and his sister developed cough which I think turned into bronchitis. Health is indeed wealth.

Germs trivia
What a shock to read about women's purse as homes to E. coli and salmonella as well as fecal contaminants! Think about it, while using the rest room, there are times when there's no choice but to lay bags and purse on the ladies' room floor. Aside from this, our bags are with us on the train, the bus, the restaurant.

To prevent these germs from getting into our homes, wipe it clean every day with sanitizer. Yes, alcohol's a good choice, if you think your bag's surface won't get damaged with it. Cleaning your bags regularly help too.

Plus, wiping clean regularly used purse items like keys and mobile phones may keep germ-caused diseases away.

Source: Family Education

Shamcey Supsup

Shamcey Supsup made the Philippines proud last September when she bagged the 3rd runner up slot in the Miss Universe 2011. Last year, Philippines' candidate Venus Raj ranked 4th runner up.

While she was doing the pageant, me and the kids were headed for the LBC bankruptcy forum for depositors. Haven't heard from the bank nor PDIC again.

I was impressed with her brief yet intelligent answer about shifting religion for a man and am reminded by a quote by Maya Angelou:

 A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.

• Shamcey is from General Santos, the home town of now legislator world class boxing champ Manny Pacquiao
• She graduated Magna Cum Laude in the University of the Philippines in Diliman under the College of Architecture, a 5-year course with a professional examination board exam. That means her general weighted average during her whole college life is 1.45 or higher. That's like getting a grade of 90+ (out or 100) in all her classes.
• She topped the Philippine Architectural Board Examination with a grade of 86.60%. Heard that she enrolled in a review center twice, and has a habit of re-reading textbooks several times over. Now that's a habit I want my kids to adopt!
• She was a consistent honor student, valedictorian in grade school and salutatorian in Makati High School.
• Her gym instructor commends her discipline. While training for the Miss Universe, she has to get fit to gain the 'right' abs. There would be times when exercising would be too difficult, but when she was reminded that she will represent the country, she gets motivated. She eats healthy too.
• She attends Victory Christian Fellowship.

Lois' conclusions

At the end of her Nursery 2 class, my eldest's class was told by their teacher that three among them will transfer to another class. Therefore, they will not be their classmates anymore.

During their school's break, we decided to enroll her to a Vacation Bible Class, which is like an extended Sunday School. She had her new teachers and classmates. She liked it, but not as much as regular school, she told me.

At the same time, we enrolled her brother to an orientation class in her regular school because he is a new student. He has to be familiar with a class' routine before the start of the official school year.

Due to this, Lois told me a conclusion she arrived at. "Mom, I won't be attending regular school anymore. I am one of the three students that teacher said will be transferred to another class." She was referring to the Vacation Bible Class as the 'other' class.

DENR's Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife in Quezon City

Inside that cage, perched on the dried log is a Philippine hawk eagle.

Last time I visited the place was when I was 12 years old. Back then, it was still known as the QC Parks and Wildlife.


Why we went there
It was no-school day for the kids because of the Quezon City day non-working holiday. For a change in scenery, we visited the park named after the Philippine president namesake Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife.

It's along Quezon Boulevard, a bit walkable from the MRT Quezon Ave. station if you don't mind sweating. However, you may take any jeep that passes that road and pay the minimum fare of Php8. It's in front of the Philippine Lung Center, and beside semi-private Lungsod ng Kabataan or Philippine Children's Hospital.

A lot of endemic animals may be seen at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife - I think all of them?

What to see inside Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife
For the Php3 for kids and Php5 for adults entrance fee, one may stay and roam around the huge park. I spotted some informal settlers near the forest trail, their houses looked like they are.

Don't expect Avilon Zoo level in terms of quantity of animals, and maintenance. The place is run by Department of Environment and Natural Resources. They have an office at the Visayas Avenue side of the park. That means government institution. You may park on this side, by the way.

The zoo is open until 4PM so we visited that first. However, I was distracted with some tall cages in between trees and found out what they were. The trail led to a series of bird cages that I think are 5-star for animals in terms of accommodation among all the zoos I've seen. Why? Because trees are inside and they are really tall and wide structures. The birds may fly a bit more freely.

This Philippine Hawk Eagle is not inside a cage, intentionally left there for picture loving Pinoys

The foliage in the place almost resembled a rainforest, giving the animals more shelter. Honestly, you wouldn't think you were in the heart of the metro if you're there.

The path also led to a nipa hut of various types of fish, a small pond of numerous turtles. There were unused swamp-ponds, and I was almost at the look out for crocodiles. Though I'm sure there aren't, it seems that's how forest-like the place is.


Overweight crocodile and snake
Inside the main zoo, there are cockatoos, eagles or lawin, Philippine Eagle Owls, Philippine Serpent Owls, bats, monitor lizards or bayawak - theirs looked very old and gaunt, crocodiles, snakes, monkeys.

This is a fine-looking animal, and looks like a Philippine meerkat. Though I'm not sure really.

Treehuts
Picnic areas are available for free, and if you're lucky, there are huge nipa houses where you may stay. They are really big, comfortable to fit 10 people.


Stage Area
There is also a stage where perhaps cultural shows are done. When we visited the park, a meeting of all-men and all-women groups were being held simultaneously. Surrounding the stage are seats enough to fit 100 people.


Man-made lake
From the stage, we were able to see a floating house on stilts on the man-made lake. Ill-prepared, I didn't let the kids wander off there thinking dengue-causing mosquitoes are present.


Who goes there
I was surprised to see lots of SLR-toting people, with made-up models with them. So this is where camera enthusiasts meet?

There were also lots of students in uniform - elementary, high school, college. Families with little babies have picnics too.


What I love best
There were many other mini-zoos around the place, right side of the main entrance. However, I didn't check them out. I was thinking bad guys may lurk and rob us? Or the kids may trip and the ground was not very clean, because of the rain.

There were a lot more that I didn't check. However, I was glad to chance upon the HARIBON with the Manny Pacquiao tarpaulin poster in it. I have read in the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife houses a Philippine Eagle because it is blind and therefore it may not thrive in the wild.

They need their clear vision to hunt for food. So the blind, young eagle stays there. It has the biggest cage, though it would be better to make it thrice bigger just to see it fly?

On James Soriano's take on the Filipino language, Baby Alive, Cars 2

Majority of Filipinos are offended again - this time by Mr. James Soriano's article about the Filipino language.

Was not able to read the article in full, because it was not available in the web site of Manila Bulletin, and had to really research to grab a copy of it.

Language, learning, identity, privilege
By JAMES SORIANO
August 24, 2011, 4:06am
Ithink
The Manila Bulletin


MANILA, Philippines — English is the language of learning. I’ve known this since before I could go to school. As a toddler, my first study materials were a set of flash cards that my mother used to teach me the English alphabet.

My mother made home conducive to learning English: all my storybooks and coloring books were in English, and so were the cartoons I watched and the music I listened to. She required me to speak English at home. She even hired tutors to help me learn to read and write in English.

In school I learned to think in English. We used English to learn about numbers, equations and variables. With it we learned about observation and inference, the moon and the stars, monsoons and photosynthesis. With it we learned about shapes and colors, about meter and rhythm. I learned about God in English, and I prayed to Him in English.

Filipino, on the other hand, was always the ‘other’ subject — almost a special subject like PE or Home Economics, except that it was graded the same way as Science, Math, Religion, and English. My classmates and I used to complain about Filipino all the time. Filipino was a chore, like washing the dishes; it was not the language of learning. It was the language we used to speak to the people who washed our dishes.

We used to think learning Filipino was important because it was practical: Filipino was the language of the world outside the classroom. It was the language of the streets: it was how you spoke to the tindera when you went to the tindahan, what you used to tell your katulong that you had an utos, and how you texted manong when you needed “sundo na.”

These skills were required to survive in the outside world, because we are forced to relate with the tinderas and the manongs and the katulongs of this world. If we wanted to communicate to these people — or otherwise avoid being mugged on the jeepney — we needed to learn Filipino.

That being said though, I was proud of my proficiency with the language. Filipino was the language I used to speak with my cousins and uncles and grandparents in the province, so I never had much trouble reciting.

It was the reading and writing that was tedious and difficult. I spoke Filipino, but only when I was in a different world like the streets or the province; it did not come naturally to me. English was more natural; I read, wrote and thought in English. And so, in much of the same way that I learned German later on, I learned Filipino in terms of English. In this way I survived Filipino in high school, albeit with too many sentences that had the preposition ‘ay.’

It was really only in university that I began to grasp Filipino in terms of language and not just dialect. Filipino was not merely a peculiar variety of language, derived and continuously borrowing from the English and Spanish alphabets; it was its own system, with its own grammar, semantics, sounds, even symbols.

But more significantly, it was its own way of reading, writing, and thinking. There are ideas and concepts unique to Filipino that can never be translated into another. Try translating bayanihan, tagay, kilig or diskarte.

Only recently have I begun to grasp Filipino as the language of identity: the language of emotion, experience, and even of learning. And with this comes the realization that I do, in fact, smell worse than a malansang isda. My own language is foreign to me: I speak, think, read and write primarily in English. To borrow the terminology of Fr. Bulatao, I am a split-level Filipino.

But perhaps this is not so bad in a society of rotten beef and stinking fish. For while Filipino may be the language of identity, it is the language of the streets. It might have the capacity to be the language of learning, but it is not the language of the learned.

It is neither the language of the classroom and the laboratory, nor the language of the boardroom, the court room, or the operating room. It is not the language of privilege. I may be disconnected from my being Filipino, but with a tongue of privilege I will always have my connections.

So I have my education to thank for making English my mother language. 

*Reprint of Mr. Soriano's article came from the view point of Mr. Tonyo Cruz.

Addicted to the imperialistic colonizers
I agree 100% with every point raised by Mr. James Soriano. His observations and sentiments are the realities of life. I know of some parents whose kids flunk in the Filipino subject at school. This prepared me to make Filipino a strong foundation for my kids' life.

As Filipinos, I want my two children to master the language, for it is ours, and it is beautiful.

Read the poem of Gat Andres Bonifacio about Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa, or listen to F. Landa Jocano or Mike Coroza dish out those old, pure Filipino sentences and you'd be impressed. My 5-year old girl hooted for more kundiman songs when I brought her to a concert.

For story time, we have English and Filipino books. We speak Filipino when we are outside the house, and when we are at home, we practice speaking in English. This is in preparation for Mandarin, which I want my kids to learn too.

Children are intelligent beings. Batibot knows that and that made them successful. Expose them to a new language for two years, and they would be proficient in it. Consistently talk with them in that language and they will flourish in whatever dialect, language you throw them.

Sadly, a lot of Filipino parents choose English as the mother tongue of their children for the exact points that Mr. Soriano raised - we are impressed with the American Dream. We are 'honored' to have Paris Hilton come over the Philippines to design a real estate property, when in the United States, nobody takes her seriously. Deep down, we desire to be the colonizers who abused us and left us thinking low of ourselves.

Proud to be Filipinos
This has got to stop with my kids. I am fortunate enough to come from a poor family. My limited access to imported goods sheltered me to love the Philippines - sickness and all. My husband let go of a lucrative offer to work in the US and start our family there, because he does not want to step over a colleague who is in line for that job.

We pay our taxes diligently. We obey the traffic rules. We pray for our leaders. We segregate our waste. We buy Pinoy products. We mold our kids to love and live excellently for the Philippines. We dream that we will live to see that day, with the America going lower and lower, when the Philippines will be a positive contribution to the world - not just cheap source of manpower.

Long way to go
Though it is a lot of work and a long time a coming, every day is a step closer to that.

The parents' goal is to help their kids find out that niche they are meant to fill, conquer. The soonest they discover it, the better for all of us.

A monster, where?

Favorite iPad App, solar powered water bottles, sleeping bag coats, green bags from unwanted plants, and crave foods' healthy options

What happened to my kids?

How do you turn a treasure of games and entertainment tools into something beneficial? Allow use after a chose has been finished. That has been my rule in letting my kids use the iPad.

They love the gadget so much, even more than the old version because of the built-in cameras. They go crazy taking funny pictures of themselves through Photo Booth and recording video narrations.

However, to limit their use, mommy has to give the go before they can use it. I may get it back from too if the time is up, or if what they're doing isn't nice anymore. Most usual conditions I give my 5-year old is to write her complete name in a whole sheet of bond paper. I interchange this with having her read a book, and she chooses the small picture books with just less than 30 words on them.

Living my dream
I have always carried this desire in my heart to be an entrepreneur. I am living the dream now, being a freelance web/graphics designer and an all-around raket-eer. Yet I am still not satisfied.

It could perhaps be because my business pursuits haven't taken off. My projects are fine, yet I am not literally running a profitable business with regular employees. My closest shot with being an entrepreneur is leaving the corporate world and exiting the rat race.

Perhaps a more compelling reason is the fact that, like Bill Gates, I would like to pursue more humanely projects. Money-generating activities that don't solely exist to collect paychecks but more importantly, to give back to those who have no idea how to make it.

Here are a few inspiring stories:

• Coat or Sleeping Bag

Explaining what the coat is, as quoted from Veronika Scott, the designer:

"self-heated, waterproof, and transforms into a sleeping bag at night.

It is made by a group of homeless women who are paid minimum wage, fed and housed while creating these coats made for those living on the streets. The focus is on the humanitarian system to create jobs for those that desire them and coats for those that need them at no cost. The goal is to empower, employ, educate, and instill pride. The importance is not with the product but with the people.

Find out more about this project: The Empowerment Plan

• Furniture and bags out of unwanted plants

Stools, bags, pillows and more woven from water hyacinth in Cambodia, by people living in that community. This is not just green, it is also community-friendly.

These invasive plants thrive and choke waterways causing floods and loss of agricultural produce. I have seen them floating over lots of Metro Manila's rivers and they are nuisance, to say the least. I laud what these designers have done and wish that more efforts towards this same direction be taken in different countries.

Know more about this designer here: Aissa Logerot

Solar lamps from recycled soda plastic bottles filled with water

I came across this ingenious invention through Tumblr and research how this seemingly simple trick is done:

In 2002, during a long electrical shortage, at Uberaba, São Paulo, Brasil, Mr Alfredo Moser discovered a way to gather sun light in the house through plastic bottles hanging from the roof. First shown at the Globo Reporter in the 25th May 2007.

Now, I am pleased to know that a lot of Filipino families have benefitted from the sun through the Isang Litrong Liwanag, a non-governmental agency which promotes this innovation that help empower poor families.


Sorry, Captain Hook
Avoiding the 'yes-no' response, we've been rephrasing our remarks with the kids. One day, daddy was asking little boy what would the crocodile say to Captain Hook when it gets near him.

Carlos: He'd say sorry.
Daddy: Why sorry?
Carlos: Because he bit his hand.

I didn't think of that.

Want tobacco? Have Silicon
Craving for something? Beat your taste buds with these healthier options.

Want cool drinks? Have manganese. This is abundant in walnuts, almonds, blueberries.

Want salty foods? Have chloride. This is abundant in fish, unrefined sea salt.

Want soda or carbonated drink? Have calcium. This is abundant in broccoli, kale, legumes.

Update on Enopi and wushu classes

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” ~ Albert Einstein

Both my plans of enrolling my two kids to Enopi and wushu were foiled this month. Better and more appropriate ones came along and I had to go with them.

My kids' school offered after-school tutorials with actual preschool teachers giving the lessons. I enrolled my 3-year old to academic tutorial there. Our schedule is thrice a week for 45 minutes per session. The fee is P2600/month.

I let my 5-year old girl do wushu for body exercise and peer interactions. However, she cried on our way to her trial session. I had to really beg her to just try. She obliged me but told me and the coordinator after the one-hour workout that she doesn't want to come back.

It will just be swimming lessons for her - again.

The Manila Floods: Why Wasn't the City Prepared?

The Manila Floods: Why Wasn't the City Prepared?

An article published in Times.com about Metro Manila post-Ondoy (typhoon Ketsana). Republishing it just so we will remember that we BROUGHT it upon ourselves.

The situation of the Philippines is horrible, even before Ondoy hit. This explains the exodus of intelligent Filipinos patriotic enough yet full of the country's woes. This explains why even hundred of years after our colonizers, we are still not free.

We are our worst enemies. We kill ourselves because we abuse each other - whenever we don't obey the traffic rules, whenever we take home office supplies from the office, whenever we let a friend in the long queue. We don't know who we are because we never bothered to read our history and learn from it. It's like a whole country in drugs! A president we overthrew is running again for the highest position with a big chance of winning again. A dynasty of political families who has robbed the society of its resources and dignity. We never took pride in ourselves because we have always wished to be someone else - an American, a Spanish, a European, as long as not a Filipino! Why? Because we hate hard work. It has always been luck and dole outs and alms. We sell our souls and dignity for coins. We'd rather be laughed at dancing silly at a noontime show than honestly work our day's keep. So our youth get this impression that money is everything when it's not. They become easily lured into what sells - nursing, caregiving, going into showbiz, marrying a foreigner. And once we taste luxury, we hold on to it as tightly as we can. It becomes our lord and savior. The rich and powerful would still be affluent even if they give out 10% of what they have to the less fortunate. They don't because nobody wants to break the cycle, the status quo. Change is scary, it brings the unknown. How can a people who doesn't know anything, not even himself be courageous of what is to come and therefore be prepared? So we just let the climate change consequences drown and kill us trusting that God will provide and the international support would come in.

I do not hate what is happening. This is never new. I hate it that we are not learning from this - never. We never develop that sense of dignity to look within and overcome.

September 2009 in photos

September 2009 - A month that started well but ended cruelly for more than 80% of Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces as typhoon Ondoy aka Ketsana brought historic amount of rainfall. It continued to devastate other South East Asian countries like Vietnam and Indonesia. For various ways on how to help Filipino Ondoy victims, check this LINK.

This month, Ma Dahls gifted the kids with some old stuff. First is Lois' dress which is 30+ years old already. Nangni Che wore this first.

And another is this pair of warm Smurf shoe socks - Daddy Paul was the first owner.

During our September Glorietta service, Kuya Jordan and Ate Anne decided to be Jollibee friends by posing for posterity.

Of course, Lois and Carlos wouldn't let this pass.

Yup, Ate Irish turned 20 this month

This month, Daddy Paul has been letting Lois tinker with the camera. This is one of her firsts.

And this is another.

This month too, Daddy Paul turned 31.

Quezon Avenue became a water pool during the Ondoy typhoon.

My 3 Takes: Post Typhoon Ondoy

Yesterday will go down to history for being the worst flood to hit the country. PAGASA said typhoon Ondoy carried unusual amount of rainfall
equivalent to six months' average in just six hours. News showed houses and cars under six meters of flood water.

We were personally clueless because power outage started 1pm until Sunday afternoon. To keep the kids entertained, we played a lot of
imagination games. It's really challenging to keep toddlers entertained during brownouts.

Sunday newspapers didn't help because they carried mostly political stories. One headline summarized a list of celebrities willing to 'invest' in the candidacy of Noynoy Aquino. Uhm, they say nothing in this world is free. I wonder what payments they would require once Noynoy's in power? Really scary thoughts, I think!

Going back to the Ondoy calamity, to me it illustrates the following:

1. That we as humans are frail beings without capacity to defend ourselves. Without electricity, we cant even have decent meals. Against the strong winds, we cAn't stand. Against the mighty flood, we are defenseless. We are mere dust in the wind. All possessions we have can be swept easily by an hour's rainfall.

2. The unusual amount of rain is our own doing called global warming. Here in the Philippines the awareness about its effect isn't widespread but all points lead to it. Irregular rain, unusually warm weather and unexplained flooding. There are ways we can all help, StopGlobalWarming.org offers great tips.

3. There are not enough scientists in our weather agency because there has never been an accurate forecast of weather occurrence since I can recall. Maybe they have become nurses abroad?

Good news today
God bless the MRT people for lowering fare today P10 flat rate- since Metro Manila
and other 29 provinces are under state if calamity. Thank you for your
sensitivity and concern.

MRT tale

Two guys rode the for-women only coaches. Apparently security guards were out of duty so they were able to get in.

Aah! These men had to be told the rules. Evil prevails when good men do nothing, as Edward Burke said. Being the Ms. Minchin that I am, boldly explained to these brutes that women are harrassed at the coed coaches of MRT that's why the exclusivity. As gentlemen as they are they should go out of the all-girls coaches.

On the next station, while I was waiting for these intruders to alight, two more men got in. Men in uniform to be exact. Probably they came from Camp Crame because we were at the station nearest that. Oh this is war!

I repeated my arguments, pointing out that as enforcers of the law they should be the first to observe them. At this instance, some passengers were looking at the commotion already. So The more I went on with my litany, Filipinos need to hear the harsh truth because we easily forget. I ranted about doing what is right even when no one is looking. And that the best time to be courageous is when you are at the right side of truth. A passenger finally got on my side. She hit it on the head when she said that the reson why the country is not progressing is because of lack of discipline. Oh, I wanted to kiss her! Bless your soul my dear sister!

At these, the four men were laughing already, obviously embarrassed. One of the police said they came from the province that's why they don't know the rules. To this, I defended that as educated Filipinos we should make sure that we know about the places we go to so we will not be illiterate when we are at a new place. I could never be appeased.

Finally, we reached the next station and the four men left. It was victory, almost. Until two more men came. Will I be defending the all-women's territory forever? They explained that they know that it's exclusive for girls but the other coaches are so full they decided to ride anyways. So I left - exhausted. It was my station already, but I made sure I told the guard on duty there were two men inside the female-only side. Hay!

Joining the bandwagon

The talk about sexy star Katrina Halili and Dr. (though soon to be removed from his profession) Hayden Kho only brings upfront what has been there ever since. We all have scandals inside our self's closets. Yes, even the most innocent of us, because we are born with a sinful nature.

My two kids, one 39 months-old and another 18 months-old, both show their savage sides every now and then. We tried as much as we could to shelter them from prime time television because we do not want them oriented with violence, sex and materialism. Yet my 3 year old scoffs at her baby brother when he plays with her toys. Or sometimes, our baby boy would send his big sister crying because he hit her on the head for no reason at all. Yes, we really gravitate towards the me-side. We, for we are all human beings want us crowned kings of ourselves. And that is where the problem lies.

Selfishness, pride, lust, jealousy, fear, slothfulness. A lot of things fall in the category of sin. The world (advertising and media) only packages them as good and enticing that's why we're lured. But those who have been there know that a life of sex, vices and thrill is a life void of meaning. Marilyn Monroe, Howard Hughes, or to bring it closer, Donita Rose, Gary V. Ok, my celebrity examples are not that convincing, but I am 100% convinced that unless we realize that we are sinful and that we gravitate towards trouble we are doomed. Once we know who we are, helpless and mean, we must seek help.

The only genuine, victorious help comes from the Holy Spirit made clear by God's word made flesh in the persona of Jesus. Ok, you might think I'm losing it, but thanks for reaching this far. Only a life surrendered fully to God can be victorious. When I say victory, I mean the non-world, true-to-the-heart peace and joy.